The Labyrinth
by ImaginaryFlower
Summary: After Miku's little brother is captured as a human sacrifice to a monster yet unknown, she unwillingly enlists the help of one Len Kagamine, a warrior with a hatred for monsters, especially the kind that captured her little brother. The pair must learn to cooperate long enough to save Miku's brother and escape the chaotic place known as the Labyrinth alive. LenxMiku, ongoing.
1. Chapter 1

**The Labyrinth**

**After Miku's little brother is captured as a human sacrifice to a monster yet unknown, she unwillingly enlists the help of one Len Kagamine, a warrior with a hatred for monsters, especially the kind that captured her little brother. The pair must learn to cooperate long enough to save Miku's brother and escape the chaotic place known as the Labyrinth alive.**

**Pairings: MikuxLen**

**Rating: T**

**Genres: Fantasy, adventure, romance**

**Characters: Len K., Miku H.**

**I'm starting another story. Because I am an idiot. I still have Not Normal to work on and that other stupid Magical Girl one (which I will be posting a chapter of soon, if you're one of the people who was interested in it), but this idea has literally been around for almost a year. I needed to do something about it.**

**I don't plan on posting many chapters just yet, though. I sort of want to know what people think first.**

**The first chapter is from Mikuo's point of view, though Miku will be the primary point of view throughout the rest of the story. This will have about fifteen chapters and a sequel (because the ending for this is a horrible thing to leave you all with (if anyone reads this, that is)). I'm also interested in some new title suggestions. "The Labyrinth" is an incredibly boring title. So any ideas for a better/new title would be lovely!**

**So that's about it. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Wake up."

The voice of calm, soothing, much like it was other days. Mikuo liked waking up to this voice; it was a lovely way to ease into a reality he otherwise found unpleasant.

The voice belonged to his older sister. She always woke him up. He couldn't remember the last time his parents had come into his room, let alone woken him up. Every morning, this was the routine. Miku made breakfast as best she could (Mikuo was glad her skills had improved over the years. She wasn't much of a cook), woke him up to eat, and left him to his own devices as she hurried off to get ready. She woke up earlier than him since she was five years older and had to head off to high school earlier. Mikuo was only in the sixth grade, so he didn't have to get up that early yet, thankfully.

"Wake up or I'll eat your toast."

Mikuo groaned and gave into the reality that he'd have to get up if he didn't want to starve. Miku might sound like a nice big sister, but she was a bit of a slave driver and really headstrong. Basically, she was never wrong and she refused to back down. Her way was the right way and no one else could do anything about it, including Mikuo. If he had his way, he'd be holding steady at a C- average with a room not unlike a dump and meals consisting of pizza and ice cream. Simply put, he was a typical kid. He didn't like control.

But someone had to be the mom and Miku took up the job swimmingly. Even Mikuo had to admit that. So he rolled out of bed with a look of sleepy pain on his face and shuffled to the kitchen, where Miku was placing the pan she had used to make eggs in the sink. She'd wash it before heading out.

Miku offered him a pat on the shoulder and a ruffle of his light blue hair before ducking through the doorway and heading to her own room, where she'd slip into school clothes and smooth down her hair. Mikuo would finish his eggs just in time for her to wave her goodbye to him from the front hall, where she would struggle to slip into her shoes as he waved sleepily back and trudged lazily up the stairs to his own room. This was how it usually was. There were rarely interruptions in this schedule. When they were, the two Hatsune siblings did their best to work around them. Well, Miku did. Mikuo usually followed whatever she said.

With feet of lead, Mikuo finally made it to his own room, which, while not perfectly clean, was neat enough at Miku's insistence. The books on the shelf may not have been all pushed to the same level and a few were stacked haphazardly instead of being placed side by side and a few socks may have found their way under the bed over the past few weeks but all in all, it looked cozy. And Mikuo did know where everything was.

Mikuo pulled on a pair of worn jeans and a t-shirt, not realizing he had managed to get the t-shirt backwards somehow. With a grumble of annoyance, he righted his clothes before yanking on socks. It was a process he didn't especially enjoy but did all the same.

Clothes are a pain, he decided as he scowled down at his now-socked feet. They didn't match but who would be staring hard at his feet? That would just be weird.

Mikuo finished preparing for school and found his bag tucked behind his door. It could almost always be found there. Inside, his homework folder and his reading book sat where they had been placed last night, after Miku had helped him finish his assignments. She herself had been swamped with advanced material she really didn't feel compelled to enjoy, let alone do, yet she had done her best.

Mikuo was really lucky to have her as a sister.

With a fond smirk, he slid into his sneakers and got his backpack on before heading out the door, checking once than tice to make sure he had locked the door behind him. He had forgotten more than once in the past, much to Miku's annoyance.

His school wasn't too far away. He didn't even have to take the city bus like Miku and her next door neighbor friend did. He was glad; the bus was horrible. The people on it were always weird and it was too shaky. Sometimes, when there were no seats, he had to stand up. The feeling he got while doing so was close to the stomach bug he had gotten back in third grade and his friend told him it was bus sicknesses. Now that he was in sixth grade, he knew you couldn't actually get any sort of diseases from a bus itself, but he had to admit he hadn't been very intelligent when he was younger. The thought that he could get sick from riding on a bus kept him out of one for a good year, during which time Miku had no problem showing just how irritating this was to her.

The familiar path wound in front of him, leading right to his school yard, where the older middle schoolers hung out in groups and his fellow sixth graders tried to pretend they were older than they actually were. He had told Miku about how all the grades acted like they were better than each below it and she had told him it changed in high school. No one really cared about age difference seeing as most everyone had reverted back to the maturity of an eight-year-old anyway. Mikuo thought high school was probably a lot better than middle school.

He was greeted by three of his classmates. Piko Utatane, Iroha Nekomura, and Mayu Yoshida were all in his class and by some miracle, they had ended up together for a group project the first week of school. Despite Piko's dislike for all people who acted without thinking (Iroha), Iroha's dislike for all people too busy being negative to care about anything (Piko), Mayu's shyness, and Mikuo's own inability to take sides in arguments, the little group became a tight knit cluster of friends.

"Hi, Mikuo," Mayu, who was usually the first to greet him, fulfilled her duty as she always did.

"Hey," he replied.

"Iroha's got news," Piko gestured to the pink-haired girl who was bouncing on the balls of her feet. She was the tallest of the group, followed by Mikuo, then Piko, and Mayu was shortest. It was a big deal for her and she liked to bring it up a lot, much to Piko's frustration.

"What is it?" Mikuo asked the bubbly girl. She had a large smile on her face, and it wasn't her typical cheery smile. She was genuinely excited about something.

"Miki's home from college soon!" Iroha exclaimed. Mikuo knew how fond the girl was of her older sister.

"That's great!" he offered his own smile. "She hasn't been around for a while."

No doubt she was visiting for Christmas break, which was no more than a week and a half away. Mikuo remembered Miki well. The girl liked to pick Iroha up from school and watched the four of them at their house a few times when they wanted to spend time together. But that was before her school year started. Mikuo thought he was quite correct in thinking they were all a bit excited to see the red-head again.

"I know, right!" Iroha grinned. "It's so awesome!"

"All the words in this language and you choose 'awesome," Piko scoffed irritably. This, of course, prompted an argument that lasted until the bell rang and they were seated in class.

Mikuo let out a sigh, though it was hard to tell whether it was one of content or exasperation. Probably a bit of both.

* * *

Mikuo did not like school. It was dull and stressful. Older kids always told him that it would only get worse and he wondered what they were trying to accomplish by telling him this. It didn't make him like school any better. In fact, it made him look forward to future years even less than he had been before.

That's why he always hurried home at the end of the day. He simply couldn't wait to kick off his suffocating shoes and have a go at the next level of his latest videogame. Or maybe he was excited to get some food that didn't taste like dust and rotting compost. That's probably what the cafeteria food was made of, he figured.

So Mikuo packed up his backpack, waved a farewell to his friends, and left the school yard, where groups of students laughed and talked loudly as they waited for their rides.

The cold air made him tug his jacket closer to himself, though it cut through the fabric easily. This was yet another reason to speed up.

As he turned onto his own street, he almost ran into a very tall man. The man took almost no notice of him as Mikuo attempted to move to the side. Only when he spoke was he noticed.

"Sorry, sir!"

Suddenly, the man's eyes found his own, and Mikuo's stomach dropped. They were animalistic eyes; red and deep as dancing flames. Their intensity held him in his place, though his brain screamed internally for him to run.

"It's perfectly fine," the man reassured with a sharp smile. Mikuo didn't even notice. He couldn't look away from those eyes.

"How old are you?" the man continued. Mikuo was thoroughly freaked out but for the life of him could not move a muscle save to answer the man's question.

"Eleven," he stated in a shaky voice.

The man pondered this for a moment, his bulky arm bending at the elbow to bring his hand up to his chin. Mikuo hadn't noticed how odd the rest of him looked but couldn't now. Why was he so frozen?

"Perfect," the man decided. "You'll do well."

With that, he swept Mikuo under his arm and vanished in a flash of vibrant purple light. Had anyone been there to witness this event, they would have promptly forgotten as soon as they looked away. But no one was there. And no one saw anything.

And now, Mikuo was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**So I got a pretty decent response to this story! I think. And I finally got around to writing more so I decided to post the second chapter. I'm only on chapter six, though, so it might be a while before I post any more...**

**Gah. Whatever. Enjoy, I suppose!**

* * *

Miku was eager to return home. It had been a long day, full of tests and assignments and teens who were just trying to move through their lives like she was. But home was a place she could relax a bit, kick back and rest for a while. At least, until she finally got around to homework. Which she didn't really want to think about right now.

Miku let loose a sigh and collapsed onto the small couch in the living room as she finally trudged through her house. It was a bit cold as the heat had been turned off while both Hatsune children were at school, but Miku would switch it back on as soon as she got up. For the moment, she didn't mind having her face buried is the couch cushion, even if it was too cold.

Before her blood could freeze and burst through her blood vessels, she stood, walking to the dial on the wall that turned on the heat. Not a moment after, she turned into the kitchen to put a kettle on for tea. Nothing was quite as relaxing or as warming as tea. She waited in the living room for the water to boil, setting her assignments on the coffee table before her and outright refusing to do anything more with them before she got her tea.

When the water was finally boiled, she began to get a bit worried about Mikuo. The boy usually arrived no more than ten minutes after her, quite often not even that. Most likely, his teacher or one of his friends held him back to talk, which happened with Miku sometimes, so she would wait a while and see if he showed up. If he didn't she would call Piko's parents. Then Mayu's. Then Iroha's. If that didn't help her find him, she would stop by his school. And if all that didn't work?

She would simply have to search the entire neighborhood.

Miku finished her tea as time ticked on by and her heart slowly sunk into a pit of worry and anxiety. She would have to find him before her parents got back from work tonight. She had a few hours, so hopefully her search wouldn't last long at all.

The thought that she wouldn't be able to find him wriggled in her back of her mind but was almost entirely unlikely. At least, that's what she told herself.

Miku left the house at around 3:40, pulling on her jacket and tucking her hands into gloves. She wasn't very fond of the cold, though winter had not given them their worst. Snow would fall soon, and it would be heavy. No doubt Miku would have a miserable trek to school each morning when January decided to arrive.

On the way to the school, she called each of Mikuo's friends in turn. No one had seen him since he left only five minutes after the last bell releasing them rang. Mayu herself sounded a bit worried, though both Iroha and Piko reassured her the boy was probably fine. They were all good kids, Miku decided after hanging up for the third time.

The school grounds were empty, and the front office didn't know anything. However, they gave her the names of all her brother's teachers and Miku went around to check if they had held him back after class. No one had, though they promised they'd do what they could.

An hour later, Miku was cold, tired, hungry, and nervous beyond belief. Where the hell had the boy gone? Not only was this out of character (he always called to tell her where he was if he didn't come home), but no one knew where he was. The neighbors hadn't even seen him.

Dejectedly, Miku decided to head home in hopes he was in the kitchen, attempting to make hot chocolate. Or in the living room watching reruns of some horrible show she couldn't stand. Anything was better than an alternative.

However, as she turned onto her street, a sudden wind picked up, pulling her to a spot five or so feet in front of her. It may have been her imagination, but Miku swore she could see a crack in the air. Not in the pavement beyond, but hovering above, in empty space, with nothing to hold it up. Miku approached the spot cautiously and saw that it shimmered with a purple tinge. It was impossible that anything could be there, but there was no doubt in Miku's mind that it did, in fact, exist.

With wide eyes, the girl stretched out a reluctant hand to see if the spot of light was solid. In the moment of contact, something incredible happened.

The brightest flash of light Miku's eyes had ever been hit with in her life exploded around her, engulfing her entire figure in vibrant violet shades. With a cry, the girl yanked her arms up to shield her face from the onslaught of light, which lasted no longer than seven seconds in total. When she felt it was finally safe to lower her arms, spots danced in her vision and it took a while for her eyes to adjust to the dull light where she now was, which certainly wasn't her own street.

Instead of an empty street corner, she had been shoved into a large, vacant cavern far bigger than her house. In fact, it could have fit her entire school building and the grounds. And it was dark. So very dark, she could hardly see her hand in front of her face. The only way she could tell the ceiling ended was that a bit of a glow illuminated the stalactites on the ceiling, and they were far higher than anything she had ever encountered. The cavern could run on forever and she wouldn't know.

Quickly, with shaking hands that displayed her terror and confusion, Miku pulled her cell phone from her pocket and used the little light attached to it to get a better idea of her surroundings. God, now she was glad she had an expensive phone. If only her key ring still had her miniature flashlight.

Blinking as her eyes continued to slowly adjust, Miku shone the little light as far as it would go. Behind her, a sold wall of rock blocked off any sort of alternate entrance. Before her, the darkness stretched on forever, into an abyss she could not look into.

Miku had no idea what to do or how she got her. Obviously, that light had something to do with it. But it obviously wasn't any technology she had ever seen.

Magic, then? She was prepared to believe in such nonsense as she herself had always had an inkling to believe in magic. And what little girl didn't? She wished for years to receive her letter from Hogwarts, despite not being British. She wanted to have a daemon and to fly atop a dragon and to find her godly parent. But those were all silly dreams. And yet suddenly, they were all so real, in some miraculous way.

Miku's head was beginning to hurt from the stress of this whole ordeal. She needed to sit down. She needed to breathe. She needed-

Miku's thoughts cut off all of a sudden. She needed to find Mikuo. So, a mysterious light zaps her into some sort of underground cavern on the day her brother vanishes without a trace. What were the chances of that?

Miku could connect the two occurrences. So Mikuo had ended up here, too. Miku felt a bit relieved knowing where he was now, though whether he was okay or not was another matter. But she could get to him now. At least no one had kidnapped him.

Biting her lip, Miiku took in a deep breath and with legs made of jelly, her foot slid forward. She would have to go on, especially if Mikuo was here somewhere, too. Maybe she could find a way out somewhere else. Even if she ended up in Africa, at least she would be able to see once she reached the surface.

Ignoring a growling stomach and tired limbs, she began to walk out into the darkness, hoping to whoever might be listening she wouldn't run into any bats.

She hated bats.

* * *

Miku had been walking for hours. Not long ago, she had found Mikuo's key ring, which he must've dropped along the way. The speckles of blood near it made her stomach flip, though she tried not to worry more than she already was.

By her phone's clock, it was now 7:23. If they had been at home, dinner would be over and her parents would be home. What must they be thinking? They might not be the most attentive people as they both worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, but Miku knew they cared. She hoped they weren't too worried. At least, not as worried as she was.

This entire thing was a nightmare. Her feet ached, her stomach had long since whined itself out, and her phone would die before the next day. Of course there wouldn't be a damn charger in this horrible place. Luckily enough, it seemed that an odd sort of moss she could see growing on the tunnel walls glowed in the dark. Yes, she was quite certain it was a tunnel by now. An insanely large tunnel, but a tunnel none the less.

With a sigh of defeat, the girl slid to the floor, making sure the area around her was fairly clear. Here, mushrooms grew along the base of the wall, glowing just as the moss did. It was surprisingly easy to see, so Miku switched off her phone to conserve battery. The 'Out of Service' notice turned black as the screen did. Wherever she was, it was too far away to pick up a signal.

"What the hell is going on?" she muttered, head in her hands. She was so confused and so, so tired. All she wanted to do was sleep. Bu she had to find Miku. She wouldn't be able to sleep properly until she knew he was safe. Which, from the trail of blood drops she kept coming across, was unlikely.

Oh, God. Why was this happening to them? What had they ever done to deserve this?

Miku had been holding in a lot of emotion for these past few hours, but now she was done. She was completely, 100% done. And so with a shaky breath, she swallowed tears and fell back onto the ground, staring up at the glowing ceiling so far above her. She felt so tiny is such a large place, which didn't help her feel any better about the whole ordeal.

_You aren't going to cry,_ she ordered herself harshly. _All it will accomplish is a headache, which you don't need right now._

Though she agreed with the part of her that said that, the stress was weighing her down to the point that she didn't much care about logic or agreeing at the moment. Nevertheless, she bit her lip to the point she drew blood and squeezed her eyes tight to ignore the crushing darkness just beyond her little island of blue, glowing mass.

She had thought she knew what it was like to be completely alone before. She had been wrong. Now, in the big, empty tunnel, she was alone and without help for the first time in her life. Miku had come close to understanding, but the way her life had been before just could not properly mirror her life in that moment. At least she had been with Mikuo before.

Miku sighed, her eyes still shut. The darkness behind her eyelids was getting stronger, settling in as it did just before she fell asleep. And a few moments later, she was off to dreamland.

* * *

She was awoken abruptly by a sharp poke to the gut. It was a shock, to say the least, and she wondered if the nightmare in the tunnels had been just that; a nightmare. But when she opened her eyes to see the glow and sharp rocks that clung to the ceiling above, she knew it had been very real.

In a rush of adrenaline, she sat up, suddenly remembering what had awoken her. Not two feet away sat someone who looked very human. He was extremely pale, as far as Miku could see; pale to the point is veins stuck out more than anything else about him. His hair was a pale blond in the blue light, though Miku figures the color was a bit muted. His clothes were tight and clean, and they were completely unfamiliar. They reminded her of the clothes she saw in books from the middle ages. The shit was short-sleeved and loose-fitting, a pale green that made his eyes stand out more against his skin. He was an interesting creature to look at, and not entirely unattractive. In fact, Miku thought he looked quite lovely for a boy. That is, until he opened his mouth.

She should have figured he'd be a sour person from the brooding, angry look on his face. His arms and legs were crossed, completely closed off from her. And across his lap was a sword that he seemed more than willing to use on anyone who annoyed him.

"Who are you?"

His voice was deep and scarred, as though he rarely used it. Miku was a bit taken aback by his tone. It was demanding, rude even. What gave him the right to talk to her like that?

"Right back at you," she snapped. "Why'd you wake me up would be another question."

His jaw ticked angrily, as though he was clenching it. How she saw that in the near-darkness, she didn't know. Perhaps, her eyes had finally adjusted the light provided.

"If you want to die, that isn't my problem," he replied sharply, standing in one quick movement that Miku could barely follow with her eyes. In an instant, he was wrapped in the darkness and Miku could not see him.

"Hey! Wait!" she demanded, attempting to follow but tripped over her own feet and fell hard, scuffing her chin and knees. Her hands didn't fare much better, stinging fiercely as she sat up. The tears she had fought against earlier were once again close to spilling over.

"Please come back!" she said as loud as she could without revealing her trembling voice. God, since when had Miku been such a damn wimp? It was pathetic!

"Didn't go far," the boy's voice announced blandly and she tilted her head up to stare at him. His arms were tucked tightly across his chest still, a scowl on his face.

Miku bit her lip and scooted away from him, standing and brushing her jeans off. The girl could feel the rip in the knee of her left leg. Dirt and grit stained her scrape, no doubt, and as her hand brushed against the raw flesh, she flinched.

"Miku Hatsune," she offered her hand when she straightened back up. The boy eyed her hand with a look halfway between disapproval and confusion.

She sighed and dropped her hand. "You obviously don't know my kind of greeting. Whatever."

"You're the one out of your element here," he replied. "Len Kagamine, if you're interested."

"Better than referring to you as 'you,'" she said. "Well?"

"What?" Len said with a fair bit of poison. His eyes narrowed at her, clearly not understanding what she was getting at.

"You said something about dying. What was that about?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "You aren't going to be rude this time?"

_I'll show him rude, damn it._ "Um, sure. I'll be nice this time," she told him. Len obviously didn't get sarcasm, either, by his reaction, which was to ignore everything she had just said and continue on.

"We're not the only ones in this place, you know," he said, finally dropping his arms. "There're all sorts in here. Most want you for dinner."

"Fun," Miku muttered, though it was more to ease her growing anxiety. "Like what?"

"Nothing you want to meet," he said. If his tone had been anything other than bland, it might've been an ominous thing to say.

"That's helpful," she said. More sarcasm he didn't get, though this time he shot her a look Miku really didn't appreciate.

_What a start to a beautiful friendship,_ Miku thought to herself. _Next we'll be braiding each other's hair. It would probably work, too._ If the ponytail at the back of his head was any sort of giveaway, the boy had some long hair. Not that Miku cared how long his stupid hair was. She didn't intend to be around him for an extended period of time anyway.

"So, Len," she began, "I need to get my brother and leave. Know any short cuts?"

"Plenty. Won't do you any good, though," he shrugged. "Your brother's been captured by monsters."

Because, of course, the day hadn't gotten to its absolute worst yet.


	3. Chapter 3

**I know updates for this are pretty slow (well, slower than I would like) but I've been wanting to write this for a long time so I want to get everything right and do my best not to rush, if that makes sense. I am currently writing chapter six and I'm still working through the final few chapters and their details mentally, so each update will appear whenever. If I haven't made that clear yet.**

**I'll shut up now so you can read.**

* * *

"How the hell would you know?" Miku snapped, all pretense of putting up with this guy's nonsense gone. "What, you pal around with monsters or something?"

Sore subject, as it turned out. Len pulled a face somewhere between offended and irritated. It seemed to be his default setting, anyway, so nothing new there.

"I know because I have eyes. The group that took his passed by hours ago," he snapped. "I assume he's your brother, since he looks exactly like you."

"Oh." Well, at least she was wrong.

"They've probably taken him as their next sacrifice," he told her harshly. "Sorry, but he's going to be gone in the next week or so easily. Now, I'll be going myself. Hanging around you is really pissing me off."

Before he could disappear again, Miku grabbed his arm. It was a desperate move, one she hoped wouldn't end in broken limbs, though based on the cold glare Len was sporting, the possibility was increasing with each second she kept her hand on him. But she couldn't let him go yet.

"You can't just say something like that!" she spat. "He's my brother. Have a heart, you ass."

His lip curled in distaste. Clearly, having her anywhere near him was absolutely horrible.

"Let go," he hissed.

"Make me, jerk," she replied tightly. "Now, you now this place, right?"

"Not answering," Len said, "until you let. Go."

Miku took the hint from the murderous glare he had trained on her, though she was surprised when he didn't instantly sprint off as he was obviously dying to. She tried not to take it as an insult, but whether she did or not made no difference to Len.

"Do you live here?" she asked.

"Yes," came the short reply. Miku could feel the loathing in that one, simple word.

"Great. Take me to the monsters."

Miku wouldn't have been surprised if the boy burst out laughing. He looked completely dumbstruck before gaining control of his features and narrowing his eyes. "That's insanity," he declared. "That'll get us both killed."

"Well, then I'll go out with Mikuo. You can run off the second we get there for all I care," she snapped. "But I'm not letting my little brother be some sacrifice for a bunch of monsters."

"You are completely out of your element," Len told her. "You don't know a thing. In a day, you'll be dead. Less, if they know you're following them."

"And?" she asked. "That would be an improvement." Though, admittedly, she didn't really want to be eaten or whatever the monsters he spoke of planned to do. It didn't sound pleasant, to say the least.

"I'm not helping with a suicide mission," Len said.

"Then help rescue a kid, damn it!" she retorted. "God, you really don't have a heart, do you?"

That made the boy pause briefly. With a sigh, his hard expression fell away.

"I hate humans," he muttered. "Fine. I'll lead you through the tunnels. But I'm not helping you with the monsters. You can deal with them. I'd like to live past eighteen."

Miku honestly could have kissed him. However, since Len was a repulsive, angry ass, she decided against it.

She felt her own face brighten as what seemed like years of worry melted away in an instant.

"Oh, good," she managed.

"But you'd better keep up," Len warned. "You fall behind, I'm leaving."

"Agreed."

* * *

She should not have agreed. Len, besides being far more active and way stronger than her, walked about five paces ahead. Many times, she had to break into a mini jog or speed walk to catch up. It didn't help that she hadn't eaten in God knows how long and her knees were still scraped up. At least the blood at dried up. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any infections in her future. That was one of the many last things she needed.

Len was the type of person who completely ignored their surroundings until something stepped right in his face. Even then, he'd dodge it and go on pretending it didn't exist. One of these things he kept dodging was Miku. Not once when she fell behind on their insane trek through the tunnels did Len stop for even a second. In fact, he never acknowledged her presence at all. For all the attention she got, Miku could have been a cat following him home. Even then, he'd probably pay attention to the cat. Cats were adorable, after all. Especially the ones that followed you home.

These thoughts (which were maybe just a bit random and distracting) cut off when Len threw out his arm to stop him. She didn't exactly like how she crashed right into him, but wouldn't complain out loud.

"What the hell, Len?" she demanded. "Warn me next time."

"Shh," he ordered. "I hear something." Miku swore he added a silent "besides you" that she received telepathically and it certainly wouldn't surprise her at this point if he had.

After several seconds, Len drew his sword and Miku got the distinct feeling they had seconds left of safety. If that.

"What is it?" Miku asked in a hiss, feeling it prudent to her survival that she stay behind Len, who, after all, had the weapon.

"There are a few possibilities. Most likely, the monsters that took your brother sent someone back to get at us. You made your entrance to the labyrinth a bit obvious."

_So that's where we are, then,_ Miku thought. _A labyrinth. Well, that explains the bit about the never-ending tunnels . _

Skittering sound from up ahead drew her attention once again and Miku tried to picture might come after them. She couldn't even begin to think of what horrors might be in this labyrinth. If there were monsters terrible enough to take a little boy as a sacrifice, there were no doubt things prepared to eat her liver for dinner.

Ugh. She didn't even want to picture that.

"What is it?" she hissed her question again, moving closer to Len. Close enough to feel the heat he was radiating. "What kind of monster?"

"I don't know! Will you shut up!" Len hissed in response. Miku normally would have provided a decent comeback, but at that moment she realized that they were in a fair bit of trouble

Miku's breath caught in her throat as she stared beyond Len, into the darkness where it was no longer silent. The sounds of rocks crashing and claws scraping the ground reached Miku's alert ears, and she could not calm the rabid, fearful beating of her heart. She had never been more scared before in her life. Nothing could compare to true fear. The knowledge that the only thing that might stand between her and death was a boy who didn't like her very much at all was the worst of all. God, could Len hear her heart? He must think she was such a wimp. Well, in different words, but something along those lines.

"I think we're okay," Len told her as the scratching froze for a moment. "It's likely just a chimera or something just as small."

"Chimera?" Miku asked. "Those aren't very small."

"They are here. No more than three feet long. We're probably safe," Len said, sheathing his sword. As the metal blade slid into its scabbard, a tiny skittering creature darted past Miku's ankle, throwing her pigtail behind her as it sped by. Miku yelped and jumped to hide behind Len. The thing was scaly, almost bat-like, with a vaguely humanoid shape.

"Oh. It's just a bat," Len seemed to relax considerably.

"That's a bat?" Miku demanded. "Bats are not supposed to look that way."

Len eyed her with a skeptical, somewhat annoyed look. "Maybe where you're from. But here everything either comes in creepy, crawly, or murderous."

"Funny. You come up with that yourself?" Miku asked sarcastically.

"No," Len said. "Someone else did. A woman."

"A woman? How do you meet anyone down here, let alone women?" Miku said.

"She was a sacrifice," Len replied. Miku really couldn't say anything smart in response to that.

"Oh," she said. "How did you meet her?"

Len whipped around to look at her coldly. "It's none of your business," he snapped. "Now, if you see fit, we'll be on our way."

Miku nodded, a bit annoyed by his tone, but she didn't really blame him. She had been snooping into his private history, after all.

"Okay," she agreed, taking a step back. "When will we stop for sleep?"

Len seemed to ponder that question for a moment. "Whenever I say to," he decided.

Miku was pretty sure that would be never, just to spite her.

* * *

Miku collapsed as soon as Len determined it would be fine to stop. She had never been much of an athlete. Not that she wasn't out of shape. Nevertheless, she was exhausted from what she was pretty sure was a full day of walking. Her feet no doubt had blisters, and her shoes would likely be destroyed when this stupid rescue mission ended. She was tired, she was cold, she was uncomfortable, and she was hungry. It had gotten darker again, since those glowing mushrooms had grown fewer and fewer as they walked. Miku was beginning to feel her old childhood fear of the dark returning. She had never really been in such pure dark before, after all. It was terrifying. And who did she had to comfort her? Len? The idea was laughable.

Still, she was glad to have some company, even if Len wasn't much in the way of company. Without him, she would probably be dead. If not today, then certainly tomorrow. He had managed to provide her with some food when they stopped, to his credit. She had no idea how long it had been since her last meal (lunch; it had consisted of an apple, a salad, and half a sandwich. Had she known the mess she would be in by the next day, she would have eaten the other half), but it had been a really long time. She had never been so hungry before in her life. In fact, she was hungry enough to dig into three raw fish. Pretending it was sushi helped a bit, until she stared into the face of one. By the small light of her cell phone (which Len was very curious about, though he did not inquire about it), Miku could see the fish had no eyes. After that, she had to pretty much force each bite down her throat. The fish went down with a handful of mushrooms and some water from a nearby underground stream, where Len had also gotten the fish. Miku was satisfied, if not a bit grossed out.

Figurative night fell as Miku curled up, using her jacket as a pillow. Things had warmed up a bit (luckily, though she didn't really understand why), so she was comfortable without a blanket. Len settled down about five feet away, his eyes examining the amazingly high ceiling of the labyrinth. Within minutes, he was asleep. Or at least he looked asleep. It took a while for Miku to finally nod off, even though she was so tired. Considering her circumstances, that wasn't really odd

Miku awoke several hours later (nearly seven, but she didn't know that) and stuffed herself with fish and mushrooms again. Eating something that happened to be glowing was weird, but she did it anyway.

She was very happy to discover that they would be making the majority of their trek next to the underwater stream, which glowed at the bottom. The faintest blue light lit her path and illuminated Len as they walked. Her body was still sore from yesterday, but at least now she was rested and fed. Though perhaps it hadn't been a good idea to eat so much. She was already feeling a bit sick.

But really, things were going much better for her considering the whole imminent death thing. After all, she was worried to death about Mikuo and she had absolutely no idea how she would get him out of wherever he was being kept. A teenaged girl with a weak body wouldn't be much good against monsters, no matter how small.

God. She was so screwed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, does anyone remember that time I said I'd start updating regularly? About that...**

**This chapter should have been up last week. Sorry.**

**This chapter features the game "how long can the author drag out one scene?" Once again, sorry!**

* * *

Miku realized that she really, really hated Len around midday. Or at least what she thought was midday. It was hard to tell considering there wasn't any freaking sun anywhere. Or much light at all, for that matter. She never would have imagined she could miss a simple breeze or the shafts of light filtering through her curtains.

Back to the topic at hand.

Miku had already known Len was cold, rude, and annoying. The fact that he refused to stop even once proved this. She didn't eat. She didn't pause to rest her bruising leg (she had tripped. Len had barely stopped for five seconds before moving on). She didn't even stop for a drink of water. Len didn't reply when she had asked. Why was he so determined to get her to hate him? He was certainly doing a good job if that was his goal.

He was so inconsiderate. Did he think for one second that maybe she just wasn't cut out for this kind of physical exertion? Of course, the sooner they got there, the better, but Miku wasn't used to walking for hours upon hours a day. She just couldn't handle it. Even though the idea that she might lose Mikuo because she simply wasn't strong enough to keep up with Len made her so angry. Why was she so weak? She could have been given a tough body. She could have worked to be strong. But instead she was stuck in a weak little vessel and it pissed her off. She was just not enough to protect Mikuo. She had never been "not enough." Miku had always managed somehow. Always. But now it seemed like she really wouldn't.

She hated Len for reminding her of that.

They finally stopped at the end of the day, though things quickly deteriorated from there. Miku was glad to finally have a few moments of rest. So of course things would be interrupted.

Miku knew something was wrong as soon as Len stiffened. He had been in the act of pulling off one of his boots when he abruptly froze. Quickly, he stuff his boot back on and grabbed his sword, instantly maneuvering himself to stand between Miku and the underground stream which had turned into a raging river. The flash of a scaled tail announced the arrival of Miku's first real monster.

She was frozen. Completely frozen. She couldn't even blink. Terror filled her to the brim, threatening to spill over and drown her once and for all. Whatever that tail belonged to, it was big. And Miku had no doubt it would mind eating a bony human girl if it had to.

"What is it now?" she demanded. Her voice was hoarse and so quiet she herself could barely hear it. Somehow, Len managed to make out her words over the crash of water as the tail they were observing plunged back into the water.

"Most likely it's a hydra," Len replied. "If that's the case, we should be on our way as quickly as possible."

Miku crawled backwards on her hands and hit the wall of the labyrinth. At this point the tunnel they were traversing was nearly two hundred feet wide. The majority of that length was taken up by the enormous river that ran beside them. Miku had no idea how they would get away from such a large body of water when there was nothing else for miles.

"Come on!" Len demanded as a shadowy head emerged from the water, quickly followed by three others. "We don't have time for this!"

Miku was yanked to her feet and dragged along behind Len, her hand gripped tightly in his as they did their best to run. The thing, whatever it was (_hydra_, Miku's brain supplied, though she was doing her best to focus on following Len as fast as she possibly could), hissed and struck no more than three feet behind Miku, sending her heart into rapid, erratic beats. Miku nearly tripped up then, but was saved by Len's hand in hers. He pulled her along as another one of the head struck, this time hitting the wall above them. Miku was forced to the ground as Len yanked her down. She could barely focus as she saw the blond boy lash out with his sword, almost cutting across the face of one of the heads before pulling her along again. Her legs were locking up. It was getting harder to follow along now.

"Damn it, Miku!" She heard Len yell back at her. "Hurry up!"

She couldn't. She was freezing up again.

_I'm going to die,_ she thought. _I'm going to die and Mikuo's going to be sacrificed and Mom and Dad will never know. I won't go to college or get married or accomplish anything. I'm going to die at sixteen!_

She was hyperventilating now, her legs tripping her up. She let go of Len's hand and fell behind, her stiff limbs allowing her to collapse to the ground. She was surprised Len took the time to glance back at her. Was he scared, too? Or was this just like any other day for him?

"Miku!" he shouted, almost angrily.

"I can't!" she managed. "I can't move!"

She saw him mutter a curse before he fell back, blocking an attack from one of the heads with a swipe of his sword. The hydra had been following them as they ran, speeding through the water and sloshing waves up on the shore. Miku gazed in horror at the huge monster as all four heads and nearly went into shock when a fifth head rose out of the crashing, freezing water. Before another strike could come, Len jumped in front of her, deflecting the angry teeth away with his sword once more. As quick as a strike from one of those heads, Len scooped Miku up in his arms and they were off again. Miku did her best to hold on, her arms wrapping around the boy's neck as he ran. He still had one hand on his sword and had Miku been in her right state of mind, she would have been in awe of his strength. He was carrying her in one arm like a child.

Len dodged to one side to avoid another strike and was quickly cut off by one of the other heads. It was quickly dealt with by a solid blow between the eyes.

"Hold on!" he hissed into Miku's ear as he skirted around the head. Miku shut her eyes tightly and just hoped that the whole ordeal would be over soon.

She was entirely too surprised when they finally stopped after a sharp turn. When she opened her eyes, it was very dark again, though she was almost completely sure they were now in a cave. Len still held her, his breathing labored and his eyes bright in the dark. He had the two of them pinned to the wall, his eyes peaking around the entrance to look out at the monster still bent on pursuing them. Unfortunately, the cave entrance was barely big enough for Len and Miku to squeeze through, let alone a head the side of a car.

"Safe," Len sighed. Miku had yet to release him, which she would probably be embarrassed about later. But right now she felt safe. Len could protect her.

"Come on, Miku. The hydra can't get us," Len whispered, though he still sounded a bit shaken. "It's okay to let go."

"Are you sure?" she asked in a voice just as quiet. Her heart had yet to settle. She was pretty sure she would be in a state of shock and panic for the rest of the day.

"Yes. Completely sure," Len told her. With a shaky breath, she unwounded her arms from his neck and sank to the ground, her body limp and her limbs shaking. She couldn't remember ever being more frightened before in her life. She never wanted to feel this way again.

Miku hated this labyrinth. Why was this happening to her? Why would anyone ever be put through something like this?

"Breathe," Len instructed, unscrewing the top to the water bottle he had. Apparently he had gotten from another human who was dragged into this mess. What had happened to them? Had they died, too?

Miku gulped down mouthfuls of cold water as Len kneeled beside her, holding the bottle to her lips.

"Thanks," she said in a weak voice. Len nodded once before screwing the lid back on and sitting next to her.

"We'll wait a while for the beast to move on," he said. "It shouldn't take long. There's much better prey to be found."

Miku drew her knees to her chest, her heart beginning to calm down as she tried to steady her panicked breathing. "Okay," she agreed.

They were both silent as waves crashed outside. The monster seemed to be throwing a fit, banging its thick skulls against rocks and sending water everywhere. Roars echoed in Miku's ears, each one overlapping the next as each mouth contributed to the ruckus outside their little cave.

The cave certainly was small. Maybe a bit larger than her bedroom at home, but no more than fifteen feet by fifteen feet. It may seem big, but when you're hiding from a giant monster in pitch black, it seems much smaller. The inky black that surrounded them made everything seem even more crushing. She felt as though she was going to suffocate on the stale air. How was there even oxygen down here? What if it wasn't even proper oxygen? After all, there were no plants?

Oh, God. Maybe she'd been breathing in poison for the past two days.

Miku was beginning to hyperventilate. Her gasps were covered up by her hands, though because Len was still so goddamn close to her physically, he could feel her start to shake. The roars outside echoing off of dark walls did nothing to help calm her down.

She was most definitely going to die. So was Mikuo. She was such a failure.

To her surprise, Len sighed and drew her slightly closer to himself. It was an action that she hadn't expected in the least, though couldn't say she was entirely against at the time. She'd no doubt be embarrassed later, but she curled up tighter, feeling her own chest rise and fall in a panic of breath and shivers. It hurt. She had never had a panic attack before. Miku was almost completely sure that's what it was. One of her friends in primary school had been prone to panic attacks, but it had been so long since she had dealt with one she couldn't really remember how.

_Breathe into a paper bag, right?_

She didn't have a paper bag. All she had was her next to useless phone, which was pretty close to dying.

_What's wrong with me?_ she wondered. _Everything is going to hell, and I'm not following too far behind._

She could feel Len's warmth now, and gained just the slightest bit of comfort from the fact that he simply existed. He was trying, she could tell. He was really trying to make her feel better. And how long had it been since he had been around another person? How long had that person lived?

He was so much stranger than her. And now he was trying to make sure she was strong, too. She wasn't. But she was going to try.

Miku took one more shuddering breath before swallowing, her dry throat protesting as air fought to be released. Her lungs stung. Now she knew how that little girl had felt every time she had a panic attack. Poor child.

The sounds outside had yet to cease, and Miku couldn't believe the beast was still flailing about. The chaos outside was impossible to ignore and even more impossible to speak over.

"How long?" Miku managed, and she hoped Len picked up on what she meant.

"No idea," Len muttered into her ear. He slid onto his rear, his legs sticking out before him. Miku didn't feel the need to move. It was chilly in that little cave. So chilly. Miku was glad she had her jacket.

"We'd best stay quiet. It has excellent hearing," Len instructed. "The sooner we shut up, the sooner it will lose interest."

Miku gulped and nodded, her arms aching as she clung to Len tightly. In such a dark, inhuman world, he was so human it almost hurt.

She felt a lot less alone with him now.

* * *

**Review if that's your thing! If not, see you next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**An update on time!*gasp***

**I'm so sorry this is so short. But I didn't want to focus too much on Mikuo just yet. (Spoiler: it's in Mikuo's POV.)**

* * *

It was dark. It stank. There were weird noises. And Mikuo's ankle was killing him. He was pretty sure the bone was actually peeking through the skin, a jagged break tearing through flesh. He didn't have the guts to confirm it. Just thinking about the possibility made him feel sick.

Mikuo had never liked the dark, but he was coming to enjoy it less and less as time wore on. He could hear rattling, and there were doors opening and pained moans filtered into his ears and _Jesus Christ_ there was a girl meowing next to him. Well, not exactly next to him.

He was pretty sure he was in a cage. Not a small one, but not a large one. When he extended his arms, his fingertips brushed the bars and poked out of the cage, though after nearly having them bitten off by whatever the hell was in the cage next to him, he decided he wouldn't be using his arms to measure things anymore.

Occasionally, this weird demon-monster thing in the corner of the room (?) he was in lit up like some kind of mutant firefly and he got flashes of his surroundings. Though to be perfectly honest, it would be best if he had no idea what was going on around him. For God's sake, the meowing girl next to him was missing her arm. He really didn't need the image of her bloody, torn stump of an arm in his thoughts.

He'd lost track of time. He thought he might have been there for about two or three days, though honestly it could have been anywhere from five hours to a week.

He was going to die. At least, he hoped he was going to. These maniacs could have anything planned for him, really. But of all the horrors flashing in his mind, death was the best option.

He was eleven. He was supposed to be at home, or with his friends, or getting sand in his shoes and holed in his socks as he screwed around on the playground. He was not supposed to be hoping for death. This was all insane. He was going insane.

Shit.

God damn it.

Mikuo would normally revel in the ability to say these words without any repercussions. Now wasn't really the time to revel in anything, except for maybe the fact that he was still alive. As long as he was alive and intact, there was some hope, no matter how little.

He wanted Miku. He missed Miku. If he got out of this, he would literally never complain about her again. There was absolutely no way she knew where he was. He didn't even know where he was. So for once, his big sister would not be there to help him.

Shit.

* * *

Another meow sounded from the cage to his right, waking Mikuo from a shallow sleep, the first he had experienced in however long he had been in that cage. The idiot cat girl who had made the stupid sound was panicked. He could tell from the urgency in her tone.

"What the hell?" he demanded, glaring over at her. She had curled up in the corner where he was, anxious blue eyes staring in at him with an innocence he hadn't expected.

The girl was pretty, from what he could see of her. She had soft features and a sweet face and long hair. Specifics were lost in the dark, but he swore that she looked no older than himself.

"What do you want?" he snapped, annoyed that his first nap in a really long time had been interrupted.

"What?" she repeated. Her voice was soft and maybe even a bit confused.

"I asked first, idiot." Okay, so normally he might not be such a jerk. But could you really blame him?

"Idiot?" she asked in the same tone.

"You are seriously stupid," he decided. "Why did you have to wake me up?"

She focused intently on his face, her eyebrows knit together in concentration. "It's… er…"

She seemed to give up after a long internal struggle before switching to a language Mikuo could barely recognize as a language. It was what you would describe as violent, a gargle at the back of the throat.

"Oh. Oh. I'm a moron," Mikuo sat up then, rubbing his head and feeling his mess of hair atop his head. "You can't speak English."

"Ah… yes?" The single word carried an odd accent. "Yes," she decided like she suddenly knew the word.

"Um…" Well, how was he supposed to talk to her now?

"SeeU," she offered.

"What?" Mikuo said. "Um, I see you too?"

The girl's nose wrinkled and ears he hadn't noticed before flicked in her mass of curly blonde hair. They looked like cat's ears from what Mikuo could tell.

"No. Me," she sat up as well and placed a hand flat on her chest. "SeeU." Then, she pointed at him, her hand reaching through the bars and almost touching him.

"Oh. Oh! I understand," Mikuo said, despite the fact that she had pretty much no idea what he was saying. "I'm Mikuo. Mikuo." He felt a bit silly repeating his name, but he wanted to get the point across.

"I understand," she repeated.

"No. I'm Mikuo."

"No. I understand."

"Wha- oh." She picked up English pretty fast, it seemed. "That's good."

She beamed like the brightest ray of sun and a bit of Mikuo's intense, stomach-churning worry ebbed.

"Good, yes?" she asked. "I am good?"

"You're very good," Mikuo told her. "You're smart."

"And Mikuo is…" she trailed off, searching for a word. "Mikuo is also good."

"Yeah. I guess," he agreed.

And that smile returned. Why was she so happy? He hadn't said anything to warrant the amazingly happy smile she was giving him. Actually, he had kind of been a jerk.

"Is… Mikuo, ah… no, wait," she tilted her head a bit. "Hurts. That hurts."

SeeU had gestured at his ankle as she said this. It wasn't a question. It must look pretty painful then.

"Yeah," he agreed again. "It… it hurts."

"Oh. Sorry," she dropped her hand to her side. A tail Mikuo hadn't seen before whipped into view, but something was wrong with it. The tail cut off halfway, a bloody stump of a thing.

"Oh my God," he said.

"Yes," she agreed. "It hurts."

And right there and then he decided that death would be much better than whatever the hell they might throw at him.

* * *

**Review if that's your thing! If not, see you next week!**


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